


Masterpiece of You

by KNBSnkLover



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: AkaKuroWhiteDay2016, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Aomine is a Dork, Established Relationship, M/M, Magic, Possessive Akashi Seijuurou, Rakuzan - Freeform, Royalty, castle - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-14
Updated: 2016-03-14
Packaged: 2018-05-26 15:40:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6245737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KNBSnkLover/pseuds/KNBSnkLover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Generation of Miracles believe that the castle is haunted by a ghost, but crown prince Akashi Seijuro finds mystery, beauty, and eventually the truth within an obscure old painting hidden deep from the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Masterpiece of You

 

The fireplace crackles quietly, casting shadows on the walls as Nijimura Shuzo paces back and forth amidst his passionate lecture.

"-never to be seen again. It was speculated that he simply disappeared that night. Some consider him a martyr, but he is a mystery for the most part."

Deep baritone rumbling through the high ceiling of the classroom, he didn't even need the history book in his hands for his lecture. "His case remains one of the biggest mysteries of this century."

Akashi jots down his last set of notes. "Daiki, pay attention."

"Akashicchi is talking to you, Aominecchi!" Kise pokes the slumbering figure with his fine, imported quill.

Aomine jolts awake and rubs his shoulder, turning to glare at the smug look on Kise's face. "Tch. Bastard."

"Akashicchi was trying to talk to you, Aominecchi. You don't have to be so rude to him or me!"

"Oi, Akashi. What do you want?" Aomine lets out a giant yawn. He stuffs his pinky into his ear as deep as it could go.

"That is not how one should address the crown prince, nanodayo."

"Then how the hell am I supposed to address him?!" Aomine flicks something off his finger making Midorima purse his lips in contempt.

"I beg your pardons," Nijimura interrupts with a piercing glare.

Kise and Aomine audibly gulp and straighten up; however, Murasakibara turns around to face Aomine with a harsh scrape of his chair. "I like to dress salads, Mine-chin. They don't taste so gross that way." A thin layer of chocolate is coating his lips and the entire left side of his face.

The young generation of nobles exchange incredulous glances before remembering Nijimura, whose aura was only darkening.

"That is quite enough," Akashi cuts in sharply, "Daiki, your inability to participate seems to cause a chain reaction of dissociation. How are your studies faring?"

Aomine freezes and the room becomes enveloped in a rather terrifying silence with both Nijimura and Akashi staring daggers at the whole lot of them.

Midorima breaks the rather awkward stillness by letting out a sigh. "It is apparent that he is slacking far behind again."

"I'm not that far behind!" Aomine snaps. "Besides I can't be the only one! Kise doesn't really pay attention either!"

"No offense Aominecchi but I don't really want to be associated with you right now."

Aomine responds by jabbing Kise in the ribs and the latter proceeds to let out a yowl. "That hurt, Aominecchi!"

Midorima shakes his head. "Unbelievable, to think that you're next in line to becoming the king's advisers and generals."

"I believe we have finished our lessons today." Akashi stands up, sweeping past the others with his load of books carried effortlessly and regally in his arms. "Thank you. I will no longer be needing these this evening."

Nijimura nods at him and unloads the books from Akashi to carefully place each of them in their designated stuff. "And them, My Prince?" He gestures towards the generation of nobles' children.

"They are to be dismissed by you, Nijimura-San."

"Ah." Nijimura waits until Akashi's departure before rounding up on the very nervous-looking group. "Extra studies this week, all of you!" He directs his glare towards Aomine. "Especially you."

* * *

 

It is well into the evening when Akashi makes his way to his chambers. Dinner had been the usual formal affair with his father - this time with talk regarding politics and trading with other kingdoms.

Akashi steps into his private hall, the dim candlelight and soft red carpets welcoming him. He sets his crown on the velvet cushion in the glass cabinet before briefly combing his fingers through his hair.

He stops by the very end of the hall, the dead end, to admire the portrait. He'd moved the curtains aside this morning myself.

It is not a colossal portrait- it does not tower over him or cover the entire length of wall but it captures his attention all the same. It is not a widely accredited painting at all. Nobody has ever stopped to admire its simplicity - rather it looked like a very ordinary, very old portrait.

A date is scrawled in the corner, for the painting bears the moment before the kingdom's history changed forever. It had been in the castle ever since the fateful revolution, its artist long gone. Although never given recognition, it has now been a part of the royal family's private collection for almost a century.

It is no royal ancestor. No one in his bloodline has had blue hair or bulbous, unblinking eyes. There is no crown on his head - but none of that matters to Akashi, who has his eye on better things.

"Tetsuya, I wish for you to come see me this evening."

As soon as the words are spoken, a faint glow begins to emit from the painting before the little private hallway grows brighter - brighter still - and all the light fades away and all that's left of the painting is its backdrop.

In front of Akashi, Kuroko Tetsuya stands his place.

* * *

 

"Good evening, Akashi-kun." The bluenette slightly inclines his head. He is garnered in simple, old-fashioned attire with a small, brown sheath.

"And to you as well, Tetsuya. How do you fare?"

Kuroko's cheeks tint with a faint pink as he accepts Akashi's arm. "Same as usual, Akashi-kun. It is a still-life."

Akashi chuckles and sends a fond smile Kuroko's way, to which the latter looks away blushing.

They take a stroll arm-in-arm through the castle gardens.

It is a season for the fairy-like petals of cherry blossoms to grace the earth with their blessing. When Akashi and Kuroko approach their spot - the old oak tree surrounded by a fair meadow, the very edge of the gardens, red and blue hair are speckled with soft wisps of pink.

"Let me help you out, Tetsuya." A porcelain hand gently sweeps the pink from wind-ruffled blue locks.

"Please let me return the favor then, Akashi-kun." Kuroko firmly plants his feet on the ground and stands straighter so his arms can reach the extra inches atop Akashi's hair, just as Akashi reaches down to cup Kuroko's cheek.

Their hands brush together for a moment, neither of them letting go and just enjoying the thrum of being alive in their veins.

Then Kuroko retreats his hand. "Someone could see us, Akashi-kun." The pink tints his cheeks again, a pastel that makes his face look like a cherry blossom. (And Kuroko wouldn't know it, but it makes Akashi's heart stir.)

"If somebody were to see us, they would have seen us a long time ago." Akashi sits down underneath the oak, where the cool shade and temptation awaits.

"You have a point," Kuroko mutters as he lays his head among the gentle grasses. Akashi pats his lap, and Kuroko immediately crawls over to lay his head on the crown prince's knees.

"I do often speculate Tetsuya, that your head will look charming with a crown atop it someday," Akashi murmurs as he tangles his fingers through Kuroko's soft blue locks.

Blue, bulbous eyes stare up at him. "Please don't joke about things like that, Akashi-kun. I do not find it to be very funny."

"I must admit I have never been one for jokes myself. I am serious on all accounts, Tetsuya." The fingers give just a few more gentle strokes before Akashi begins to gently caress Kuroko's cheeks, which still held a little residue of baby-fat.

"I am a mere phantom," Kuroko whispers, his expression blank but his voice ingrained with devastated sorrow, "I do not even know if I can keep coming to see you forever. I am a shadow of pigment in a painting, Akashi-kun. Perhaps I am nothing but a figure of your imagination..."

"I don't believe that for one second," Akashi cuts in sharply. Kuroko abruptly sits up to directly meet the heterochromatic gaze that he could always feel on him.

"I have been speaking to you for years. You have been granting me visits for just as much, and if I do not tell you how endearing they were to me all this time then I would be lying to you. Are you calling the Crown Prince of Rakuzan a pathological liar?"

"Which is all the more reason why I cannot be with you." Kuroko tries a different approach and is surprised at how much it takes for him to keep control over his voice. "Think about it, Akashi-kun. All the odds are stacked against us. You are a prince; I do not know if I am real. You are a man and I am one as well."

"I hardly see the importance of such trivialities, Tetsuya."

"Your kingdom needs you to be there first and foremost, Akashi-kun. I can be your shadow and support you from the sidelines, but I cannot be your lover."

Kuroko thinks it's hardly fair when Akashi greets him with the saddest, most rejected smile he's sure mankind has ever witnessed. "You would reject me so plainly?"

"I..."

"Whatever you do, please do not blame yourself, Tetsuya."

Kuroko shudders at the sudden warmth of the lips pressing against the back of his hands. "It's not like that, Akashi-kun. I believe you know how deep my feelings resonate for you, but I do not want to complicate you."

"A great king embraces in the challenges he faces for his people and all whom he loves." The words roll off Akashi's tongue like honey and flowers burst into everlasting bloom like the small smile brightening up his Tetsuya's face.

"I feel as if I have heard that somewhere before, Akashi-kun."

"Perhaps it was from my reciting of every quote my father forced me to memorize through the years. Or perhaps it is from the history of your life, Tetsuya, which to me is enough evidence for your existence."

"Perhaps," Kuroko muses, then goes silent. An invisible silhouette seems to have drank the sunshine of the meadow, and the oak tree suddenly seems less grand as it did before.

"Who am I?" Kuroko whispers to the world after descending back into Akashi's lap.

The cherry blossoms howl in reply.

* * *

 

"So sorry for being late, ssu~!" The squeak of shoes and thunder of dribbling basketballs come to a halt as Kise pauses by the door to catch his open.

"Tch. You are so lucky that Nijimura isn't here yet or he'd give you hell."

"Don't tell, Aominecchi!"

"I'm not a snitch." Aomine aims the basketball at Kise, who yelps and jumps and catches it in a sequence of time.

"Ha! You'll have to do better than that, Aominecchi."

"Tch. Shut up, Kise."

"Would the both of you stop acting like children?" snaps Midorima. "Aomine, you are acting more irritable than usual nanodayo."

Murasakibara cuts in before Aomine can retort something nasty in return. "Mine-chin has been seeing ghosts recently."

"When have I said that?" snaps Aomine, twirling the basketball on one finger.

"Last night." Murasakibara replies nonchalantly. "I was on my way to the pantry for my late Mauibo when I saw Mine-chin. I don't think he saw me though. He was carrying a bunch of books, swearing under his breath."

"Sounds just like him," Kise mutters.

Aomine feels a vein pop on his forehead. "Can it, Kise!"

"Let Murasakibara finish his story." Midorima pushes up his glasses.

"Mine-chin looked like he heard this noise because he suddenly got really scared. He dropped all his books and started whining and praying like he was in some kind of cult. Then he ran away."

"Oi, that was not what happened at all!" barks Aomine. "It's not my problem Nijimura gave me the most work out of all of you in this haunted place!"

At that moment the basketballs stop bouncing and the entire court fills with silence.

"I hate to admit it, but Aominecchi might actually have a point there," Kise adds in an unusually quiet tone, "I've been hearing strange noises at night."

They all look towards Midorima to tell them they were paranoid, but strangely the green-haired adviser said nothing.

"Midorimacchi, what are your thoughts on this?"

"I don't believe in ghosts, nanodayo," replies Midorima, albeit a lot more quietly than the others would have liked for him to. "But I have to admit that even I have not been suspectible to incomprehensible sounds as I further my late night studies."

"What about you, Murasakicchi? Do you believe in ghosts?"

"Yep!" Murasakibara replies happily through a mouthful of avocado, unaware that the others stare daggers at him.

"Well I don't believe in ghosts," Aomine announces, "And I'm not scared. I just think it's weird because I definitely heard something last night. We can't all be imagining things."

"What I imagine to be very scary," Kise suddenly speaks up with what the others call a shit-eating grin, "Is the thought of Aominecchi with all those books! Could he actually have been _studying_?"

"Fuck you, Kise!" Aomine snarls, aiming another basketball at the blonde. "What are you laughing about, you lazy giant purple - "

Midorima finally loses his temper. "Be quiet, both of you! You act like children, nanodayo."

"And you're saying Murasakibara doesn't?" Aomine snaps.

"Don't get me roped into this, Mine-chin."

"What is with your nonchalant attitude, nanodayo? Are you okay with living in a castle that is haunted?"

"It's not so bad. The food is very good." Murasakibara pauses before popping another slice of avocado into his mouth (ignoring Midorima's eye twitch). "Besides, I'm used to it."

"Used to it?"

"Yeah, I thought everyone was used to it. The castle has always been haunted because Aka-chin lives in it."

* * *

 

"The stars are smiling tonight, Akashi-kun." Kuroko leans back, a subtle expression on his face as he drinks the inky black veil and coat of diamonds forever out of his reach.

"They do not do that every night, Tetsuya," Akashi replies softly, "Perhaps this is a special occasion."

Kuroko fidgets with the decliate shawl draped over his shoulders. "How so?"

"Love, do you really not see how the stars touch upon my kingdom when you grace us with your presence?" murmurs Akashi, charismatic as ever as a hand strokes Kuroko's hair. His other was wrapped around Kuroko's frail shoulders.

"Ah," Kuroko replies, blushing furiously, "Please do not call me love, Your Majesty, for it undermines your own standing."

"Really now? Good heavens, now I am intrigued by this mystery. Pray tell how it achieves this effect you speak of?"

"Akashi-kun will soon be a king," Kuroko says, an edge of sadness lining his voice. "He will be great, but he will no doubt be busy. There will be no times for such trivialities anymore."

A warm hand cups his cheek and turns the bluenette's face towards him. "Is that who you think you are to me? A triviality?"

"Well..." Kuroko finds it very hard to maintain eye contact with Akashi at that moment. "This world will soon be in your care, Akashi-kun. As grateful as I am to have had your company for all these years, I think it is time for you to move on. Please draw the curtains and forget about me for your own good."

"I am sorry, Tetsuya, but this is one thing you ask that I will not be able to do for you."

A stagnant silence fills the space between them. Then Kuroko speaks.

"Thank you, Akashi-kun."

"I should be the one to thank you, Tetsuya. I will figure out a way to free you someday."

"Free me... ?" Kuroko blinks then looks away. "I believe there is one way actually... "

The crimson-and-gold eyes pierce through his bones so fast that he barely has any time to react.

"Name it."

Kuroko offers Akashi the personal safeguard that became his when he became sixteen years of age. "Destroy the painting with my sword."

Akashi's reply is immediate and immaculate. "Never."

"It is the only way for me to escape."

"I do not know if I can believe you. Unknowingly sending you to oblivion is something I am not willing to risk."

"I thought you might say that," Kuroko says sadly, "In that case, I hope you take this." He unstraps his sheath from its simple loop and presents the dagger to Akashi. "I can not always gain consciousness whenever I wish, so in case I can't be with you, let my vorpal sword protect you from immediate danger."

Akashi hesitates but takes it. "Thank you. And I am sorry, Tetsuya."

Kuroko had a feeling that Akashi wouldn't believe him. He is not even sure if he believes himself.

"Me too, Akashi-kun."

Instead of parting ways, they move as close as they can to the other. Kuroko rests his head on Akashi's shoulder while the latter gently clutches him in an embrace of longing.

At one point Kuroko buries his head into the crook of Akashi's neck, and the night draws a veil over the moon, weeping for the ache of her children.

* * *

 

The alarm bells roar in Akashi's eardrums and resonates throughout his body.

Invaders sweep through the city. They come whooping with war and destroy the streets with attacks.

The people fight back, but they are struck by surprise! - and panic. Things go to chaos because there is no time to evacuate the citizens.

The leader of the invaders, a man with shaggy golden hair and many tribal tattoos, stakes his claim. "Tell your Crown Prince Akashi Seijuro I challenge him to a duel! The throne rightfully belongs to me, so hand it over peasants or else!"

His father orders him to stay in the castle at all costs. As if he would allow enemies of the crown to poison the legacy of his great kingdom. He will do no such thing when lives have been lost for his sake.

Not when his childhood friends - Nijimura, Midorima, Murasakibara, Kise, and Aomine - have all gone out to fight. He places a chaste kiss on the portrait and draws the curtains over it before arming himself with his best sword. Kuroko's brown sheath is tucked safely on his belt.

Yukimaru is gallant as she brings him to the vermin of the earth. They scorn and laugh at him, laugh at his height, the seemingly delicate porcelain of his skin, his heterochromatic eyes. Perhaps their most foolish move was to address him as princess.

"A kingdom borne from the mountains," he tells them as the sun glints off of the vorpal sword, jagged and awaiting its first bite. "It will be a century before you defeat Rakuzan."

Without their leaders, the invaders surrender and the kingdom becomes peaceful once again.

Akashi and his friends become heroes known as The Generation of Miracles.

* * *

 

"Thank you for your generous gift, Tetsuya. It is time for me to return it to you."

"You must keep the sword, Akashi-kun," Kuroko says quietly, "I cannot take it back now that it has been tainted by mortal blood. This is the last time I can come visit you."

Akashi feels his heart beat once, twice, thrice. "I beg your pardon?"

"It has been a pleasure, Akashi-kun, but now you must truly move on with your life. And I must accept that mine has come to an end."

"What on earth are you talking about, Tetsuya? I wish for you to step outside of your portrait so we can talk in person."

"I am afraid this is the way it must be, Akashi-kun. I no longer have the power to appear in front of you as a full human being." Kuroko's eyes seem even duller than usual, almost flat. Almost like nothing but mere brushstrokes.

"I order you to come out at once, Tetsuya. We are not children anymore. Surely you are maintaining your conscientiousness at the moment."

"A century ago, your ancestors invaded my homeland."

Akashi freezes, allowing Kuroko's words to resonate with him.

He continues. "They were fierce warriors. They brought innovation and knowledge from far beyond, but they didn't want to be allies. They took the throne and threatened to banish the royal family. And when they refused to leave - "

Kuroko's voice falters, and Akashi feels sick for he knew the ultimate ending of this part of Rakuzan's history.

"They had the royal family executed. Every last living relative and child, except for the one who disappeared. He was the king's son but he took his mother's name because his mother wasn't the queen. No one even remembered his name when he was alive."

The pieces of the puzzle were clicking together in Akashi's brain. "Could you be the one whom - "

"Yes, historians often regard me as the one who vanished," Kuroko's voice grows fainter, weaker, more tired, "I remember now. The executors were having a hard time finding me. No one knew what I looked like. The witch Momoi offered me a place to hide and in my haste, I agreed. She cast a spell over this blank painting where I could hide for as long as I needed to. All time is frozen within the painting. I do not age. There exists nothing but the wisp of my soul.

But something in her spell went awry. It was supposed to wear off have a number of years and I would still come out alive and free as eighteen years old. Unfortunately, if I leave for too long I will disappear. And now...after so many years with you, after so many years of taking human form, the magic is about to disappear. And I will along with it."

"There must be something we can do; I will not allow you to disappear!"

"I don't want to disappear for real... I would like to still see you, Akashi-kun."

Akashi's fingers trace over the faded hues. "Say we find a solution... "

"...Then I'll be with you, be anything you want," Kuroko finishes for him.

"You do not mind my history? My ancestors cruelly took everything from you."

"It is not polite to speak ill of the dead, Akashi-kun. I couldn't afford to live in the past; I am just grateful for a chance to live in the first place. And I am grateful to have known you," Kuroko's cheeks tint and they are prettier than any cherry blossom pink Akashi has seen, "If your offer still stands for me, Akashi-kun."

Akashi smiles softly in spite of himself. "There is nobody else for me in this world, Tetsuya."

The epitome of his life is then, when he is rewarded with the most brilliant, sweetest smile that has ever touched him.

"Then please destroy the painting."

"Are you certain?"

"No," Kuroko swallows audibly, "But I know for certain it would free me. And I will find any way I can to come back to you. If not in this life then the next."

"Tetsuya..."

"Akashi-kun." Kuroko's smile is adoring, exhausted. "Use my sword."

Akashi fights to keep his hands steady as he pulls the dagger out of its sheath. "This saved my kingdom. Thank you, Tetsuya."

"I am glad you have come back from battle. Thank you for saving our kingdom, Akashi-kun."

And with one last gentle touch to the painting and a deep intake of breath, Akashi pierces the vorpal sword into the heart of the portrait.

For a few terrifying seconds, there is nothing.

And then suddenly there is everything.

Kuroko Tetsuya comes to focus among the shards, human and eighteen once more.

* * *

 

When they deliver the news hand-in-hand to Akashi Masaomi, the king stays still for what seemed to be an eternity of terrifying silence. Then, very slowly, he inclines his head to the side and mutteres, "I can overlook your actions in exchange for your honorable defeat of Rakuzan's enemies.

If you insist upon it to be a man, Seijuro, then I shall not interfere with your decisions as this kingdom will soon belong to you. I suppose I should be grateful he is still of human blood and not an animal."

Fire pools into Akashi's belly like alcohol, but it was Kuroko who tugs him out of the room and back into the hall where his empty portrait still stood.

"What he said doesn't effect me the way it should," he tells Akashi, holding onto the redhead's ice-cold hand, "In fact, I am absolutely full of bliss right now. Do you know what this means?"

Akashi doesn't answer, just stares at Kuroko as if he has gone crazy.

"It means," the latter says with a smile, "that from this day on I am yours alone. You are mine, and I will always be yours."

And their kiss was so heartfelt and passionate after that even the moon blushed and whispered for the stars to look away.

* * *

 

That night they stumble up the stairs into Akashi's chamber. What remained of the portrait was removed once and for all.

They lie on Akashi's velvet sofa by the grand stone fireplace, drinking in sparkling wine and the sight of each other.

"Tetsuya, how fond I have grown of you." Akashi murmurs as he caresses Kuroko's waist with one hand. "I could give you the world."

Kuroko adjusts his new, flowing kimono, looking rather pleased. "Please take good care of me then, Akashi-kun."

They lean in to meet each other's lips with soft, bating breath, their reunion nothing short of sweet ambrosia.

The moon and her stars fade into the night as the reincarnated boy and crown prince make love.

The kimono slips down his shoulders smoothly, easily.

Akashi's breath hitches as he eyes Kuroko - just plain Kuroko Tetsuya - in all his glory, untouched. Akashi has never been filled with so much desire.

His Tetsuya has very supple skin. His mouth latches onto one rosy nipple, and Kuroko lets out the most delightful whimper ever to be heard. Though he is not one to submit so easily. Akashi has to battle for his dominance.

The warm glow of the fireplace casts flickering shadows over the room as their slick bodies meld into one. Tetsuya is a young and eager thing with quivering thighs and very sensitive to the touch.

Their breaths quicken to match their steady rhythm, their lips swollen and heavy after their kisses. Akashi kneads and kisses and suckles and Kuroko moans and scratches and initiates and bucks until a strangled mewl escapes his throat, and Akashi follows soon after.

It was slow and sweet and sloppy and passionate and everything Kuroko never thought that he would have. When Akashi kisses him tenderly later on that night and whispers that he could give him the stars, his reply is quiet but content.

"Akashi-kun already has."

Akashi lays there that night feeling like he will soon be crowned king of the universe instead of Rakuzan.

* * *

 

_The Following Morning_

"Let's go surprise Akashicchi, ssu ~!"

"We should not disturb his sleep, nanodayo."

"Midorimacchi, don't be a drag! As the friends of an engaged man, we of course should go over and surprise him with a bottle of champagne!"

"This engagement talk could just be a bullshit rumor. We don't even know who he's engaged to!"

"Don't be so negative, Aominecchi, I'm sure Akashicchi will tell us when he's ready. This will be fun!"

"I'm hungry."

"I know, Murasakicchi, but Akashicchi's engagement is something new!"

" ... "

"Okay, focus now... "

"Three, two... "

ONE!"

"SURPRISE!" cries the Generation of Miracles as they burst into the chambers.

The blue boy in Akashi's bed wakes up first with a chest speckled with hickeys and the most Frankenstein of bedheads.

"Good morning, friends of Akashi-kun," he says sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

There was a chorus of resounding shouting from the prince's chambers that morning.

* * *

 

~~Omake~~

" _That's_ your finance?!" Aomine asks as he openly gaps at Kuroko, who calmly apologizes for his bedraggled state that morning.

"Yes." Akashi purrs, looking content as he rests his head back on his folded arms. "Daiki, Ryouta, Shintarou, Atsushi, meet Akashi Kuroko Tetsuya. That's also future king to you."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments & kudos are love ^O^


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